The Sci-Fi and Fantasy Model Madness Realm

The 7th Annual 2001 East Coast Hobby Show

and

The IMMA sponsored Make&TakeIt Program

(Page One)

I attended this year's 2001 East Coast Hobby Show on Saturday, March 25. MANNNN! What a BLAST!! (Also, what a MAJOR downer)!

The East Coast Hobby Show takes place once a year at the Fort Washington Expo, located in Fort Washington, PA, minutes away from Philadelphia. (Their web site is it: http://www.hobbyshow.com/).

The show was initially conceived as a way for hobby companies to showcase their wares, along with interfacing directly with other hobby companies.

However, over the years it has expanded into a weekend event that is opened to the public, (allowing us to get a glimpse at kool products that will soon be released), followed by a trade show taking place the Monday after, (which is attended exclusively by hobby companies).

There were thousands in attendance at Saturday's show. However, the only plastic model manufacturer was Tamiya. (This was the downer mentioned).

There was a BIG NO-SHOW from all of the American Plastic Model Companies! I'm not sure if this can be attributed to a temporary dip in the American plastic kit output due to the economy, or to a dark sign of things to come. Time will tell, I guess.

In addition to there being poor coverage in the plastic model area, there were also a smaller number of modeling supply companies in attendance than usual. This is unfortunate, since these companies missed out on a GREAT opportunity to display their products to the more than 20,000 consumers that attended the weekend show. Also, they missed out interacting with another 1,500 retailers and buyers who attended Monday's trade show.

As previously mentioned, Tamiya was "In-Da-Hawse!" I got a chance to chat with several of their representatives, along with taking pictures of the rather small number of build-ups on display. I also picked up a 2001 catalogue.

I asked about new kits scheduled for release this year and was told that at that point in time, things were a bit hush-hush. The main reason was that in several weeks (on April 7 and 8) their TamiyaCon would take place, (http://www.tamiya.com/america/tcon/tamcon0.htm).

This is their Big-Time yearly American event, where they hold contests, conduct clinics, and roll out the red carpet for their newly released products (that had previously been announced at the Nuremberg Show in Germany).

Since the associated built up models could not be displayed at both shows, they opt to hold off displaying them until their TamiyaCon Show.

Another bright star (if you would) was Red Star Models, (http://www.redstarmodels.com/). They are a new face on the scene, specializing in plastic, resin and card models and books from Poland and the former USSR.

They had on display quite a few box tops of different types of plastic kits from Poland and Russia. Since I was not able to view any of their plastic kits, I have no idea how good their fit nor their detail was. However, it still was nice to see a new Plastic kit distributor.

Other modeling supply companies that were found at the show were Tenax, the "Space Weld" (liquid cement) company. Also, Badger had a booth, showing off their products.

Woodland Scenics had a very nice display. For those of you who are unaware, W.S. makes all sorts of very kool supplies for making scenes for Railroad setups. Their products have found their way into the mainstream plastic modeling hobby through use in dioramas

One of their representatives conducted a very informative clinic, in which he started with a Styrofoam hill and added all sorts of materials and liquids to come up with a very accurate, miniature hillside, complete with dirt, grass, shrubs and a tree. I was quite impressed with the ease in which the very realistic scene was created.

The ECHS had more railroad and RC setups and manufacturers than anything else.

In addition, there were die cast cars, kites, and toys, along with a number of stores selling models and other hobby related items.

The NEPA Chapter of IPMS was on hand, conducting a very nice model contest. It was opened to all regardless of experience level. Jack Smith (NEPA's President) has been conducting these contests at the ECHS for some time now, in an attempt to expand interest in model building by allowing participants to showcase their talents, regardless of skill level, along with receiving awards for their entries.

The contest begins on Saturday, the models remain on display over the night and awards are given out on Sunday. (All told, there were roughly 90 models entered into this year's show, which was pretty impressive).

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